Spiral cassette #2 – June 1989

The second issue of Spiral (see issue #1 for series presentation) deals with some aspects of paranormal, including last words from a deceased person, ghosts, necrophilia, etc. Not that Willem De Ridder had any interest in paranormal’s folklore – or macrobiotics, for that matter. What he is really after in the Spiral series is to examine how sound art can lure the listener, and how the media can manipulate the people. Basically, he’s using Marshall McLuhan’s Medium is the Message like others would use Sun Tzu’s Art of War – a field guide to Cold War paranoia. The late 1960s British radio program on Poltergeist (tr.#6) really stands out on Spiral #2, as it is well-balanced between witnesses’ interviews, scientists’ opinion, actual knocking sounds and noises from the creature and strange interferences with the tape recorder. The interview with the necrophiliac Lila (tr.#7) is actually a disturbing experience for this listener. It’s a US talk-show during which Lila describes her inclination for corpses and mausoleums, though she’s clear it does not extend to sexual intercourse. Unfortunately, she’s opposed the most moronic, stubborn bigotry from interviewer and guests alike. The 10mns, continuous Theta wave track that ends the tape, are presumably included to wash your ears from the accumulated aural dirt of previous tracks. In the liner notes, De Ridder intends these electric pulses (actually an electronic equivalent of the simplest brain waves) as a kind of aural Dream Machine. Sceptics like myself need not apply. Thanks to anonymous reader for the rip.

Thanks so much for this. I’ve been searching for this for a while now. I used to have this one, and for me Dennis is the one that haunts. Tender, sad and funny at turns, I can still hear it after all these years. thanks again